1972 U.S. Women's Open: Susie Maxwell Berning wins at Winged Foot Golf Club (East Course)
Susie Maxwell Berning won the 1972 U.S. Women's Open at Winged Foot Golf Club (East Course), Mamaroneck, New York, United States with 299 (+11), by 1 stroke over Kathy Ahern and Pam Barnett and Judy Rankin.
Updated October 23, 2026
Every year is on the U.S. Women's Open winners list.
- Dates
- June 29, 1972 to July 2, 1972
- Course
- Winged Foot Golf Club (East Course), Mamaroneck, New York, United States
- Edition
- 27th edition
- Counted as a major
- yes
- Format
- stroke play, 4 rounds
- Par
- 72 · 6,226 yards
- Entries
- 176
- Field
- 150
- Made the cut
- 53 (cut at 161)
- Purse
- $40,000 · winner's share $6,000
- Champion
- Susie Maxwell Berning · age 30 · United States · born Pasadena, California, United States
- Champion's title
- 2nd title at this event · 3rd major
- Winning score
- 79-73-76-71 = 299 (+11) · won by 1 stroke
- Runners-up
- Kathy Ahern, Pam Barnett, Judy Rankin (300 each)
- 54-hole leader
- Pam Barnett · Susie Maxwell Berning was 4 strokes back
- Low amateur
- Jane Bastanchury (304)
- Run by
- United States Golf Association
Winner and runners-up
| Pos. | Player | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | Total | To par |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Susie Maxwell Berning | 79 | 73 | 76 | 71 | 299 | +11 |
| T2 | Kathy Ahern | 74 | 80 | 76 | 70 | 300 | +12 |
| T2 | Pam Barnett | 73 | 76 | 75 | 76 | 300 | +12 |
| T2 | Judy Rankin | 76 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 300 | +12 |
What happened at the 1972 U.S. Women's Open
Susie Maxwell Berning opened with a 79, the highest first round by a champion in USGA records, on a Winged Foot East course soaked by Tropical Storm Agnes.
Four strokes behind Pam Barnett after 54 holes, Berning holed a 20-foot birdie putt on the 17th and closed with 71 to win by one as Barnett bogeyed the 17th.
How this was built
Every value is shown as recorded in GNN's U.S. Women's Open data. A value no source confirmed is left out; nothing is estimated. Where sources disagree, the organizer's own record is used.
Data: womens-golf-majors_dataset_2026-10-20.json (GNN's women's majors research set, "master" row for this year, research dated October 20, 2026).
Also from GNN's U.S. Women's Open set (entries, runners-up round by round, values the majors set does not hold).
Sources
- usga.org: 26USWomensOpen
- Wikipedia: 1972 U.S. Women's Open
- Wikipedia: U.S. Women's Open
- Wikipedia: Susie Maxwell Berning
- golfcompendium.com: 1972 us womens open
- usga.org: hall call comes to for 3 time u s women s open champ…
- usga.org: runaway colt spurred berning s hall of fame career
- golfcompendium.com: susie maxwell berning golfer
- Wikipedia: Susie Berning